AI-powered virtual patient platform for improving healthcare communication, particularly in challenging scenarios
Institute Reference: 2-24123
Effective communication between healthcare providers and patients is critical for delivering high-quality care, particularly in complex and emotionally charged situations like late-stage cancer care. Traditional methods, such as training with standardized patients, are expensive and resource-intensive. There is a growing need for scalable, cost-effective training tools that can be accessed remotely.
SOPHIE (Standardized Online Patient for Healthcare Interaction Education) is an innovative AI-driven platform consisting of a humanoid avatar aimed to enhance healthcare communication skills. It plays the role of any virtual patient (the demographics, health history, and severity of the disease are adjustable parameters), allowing healthcare professionals to practice and receive feedback using repeatable, and standardized metrics in a realistic, immersive environment.
SOPHIE uses advanced computational linguistic measures to detect key communication behaviors that are crucial for effective patient-provider communication, such as empathizing continuously, empowering patients, and being explicit. These metrics and insights were generated by analyzing 400 end-of-life conversations between doctors and patients and appeared in reputed peer-reviewed journals. Even though the current platform is particularly focused on improving patient understanding in end-of-life care, it can be trained for any medical scenario.
SOPHIE will allow communication skills in sensitive and complex situations to be practiced without affecting actual patients. Additionally, because the platform is scalable, it offers a cost-effective and accessible approach that can be implemented across various geographical regions. By utilizing data-driven insights, evidence-based feedback is provided, leading to enhanced provider skills and improved patient outcomes. Furthermore, the solution is customizable and allows for repeated practice in a controlled environment, which helps in better retention of communication skills.
The platform can be utilized in various aspects of healthcare, including medical education, where it plays a crucial role in training medical students and residents, and with practicing clinicians to enhance their patient communication skills. It will be particularly beneficial in oncology care, where it will help oncologists learn to discuss complicated prognoses and treatment options with cancer patients that may have limited exposure to the language and concepts involved in oncology care. Additionally, it can serve as an accessible training tool for healthcare providers in low-resource settings, making it valuable for global health initiatives.
The University of Rochester seek to license this technology exclusively (in multiple fields of use).